Louis Murphy is the most experienced wide receiver on the Giants roster for OTA’s, but he is the least experienced veteran receiver when it comes to working with Eli Manning. Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden, and Reuben Randle are all younger than Murphy, but have been around the Giants long enough to know the star quarterback’s tendencies and preferences. However, Murphy is gaining on the others in the very quickly this spring.

Today, Manning and Murphy connected on several intermediate routes, one over the middle and one on the outside, that had impeccable timing. This is after they teamed up for a seamless, deep touchdown on a post route in last week’s OTA.

On one play specifically, Murphy recalled Manning’s innate ability to read a receiver’s body language on a route. The defender played him to the inside, so Murphy had no other option but to come back to Manning, which was not the original route. Nevertheless, when he turned around, the ball was right in his hands

“He said to me ‘Hey, I saw your body language, I saw what you were doing,’ so as long as I define my movements he can read off of it,” Murphy recalled. He later said, “It’s a plus being able to be on the same page as him.”

Murphy also attributes their chemistry to the few days of workouts that Eli and his brother Peyton held on the campus of Duke University in April, in which Murphy attended along side a few other receivers, including Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.

He described that weekend as “awesome”, and said that Nicks and Cruz helped him adjust to the plays in everything from 7-on-7’s to their 2-minute drill. The four of them even watched film together to help Murphy get a better grasp on the plays. “It was very helpful going into OTA’s going down there and learning the offense,” he concluded.

Manning is just as impressed with Murphy as his coaches are.

Along with his speed and ability to stretch the field, Manning praised Murphy’s off-the-field work ethic as well. “Louis has come in and worked really hard. He’s got the desire and commitment to come in and bring another threat to his offense,” Manning noted.

If Murphy continues in this way, he could potentially beat the younger and more talented Rueben Randle for the third receiver spot.